The Election begins today

The election season begins now. Will you run for office in 2013? Will you volunteer on a campaign? Will you take advantage of the vibrant energy, the supporter lists, and the clarity of purpose that are our new strengths as Greens?

Once the votes have all been counted, between 410,000 and 430,000 people will have cast votes for Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala. Some states performed better than others. But overall, this is a significant number and an impressive act of ballot box solidarity.

The Green Party is back.

We began the 2012 campaign with 16 states in which we could run candidates on the ballot, and ended it with 38 states.

We qualified for public financing.

Our candidates appeared on national television and in all the national press.

Our message of the need for a new economy and a new democracy was heard and seen everywhere.

Roughly one million Americans voted with us, and millions considered voting Green for the first time.

The Greens are back and in the political mix. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala did that. And you did that.

What will you do next?

We hope you will take this energy and invest it in your community in the coming months. Recruit candidates or recruit yourself to run. Bring together your local Green community and build a local Green Party that makes a difference in your community. Set high ambitions, knowing that you won't immediately meet your goals.

Will your community be the next to elect a Green majority in local government?

This campaign will work with the Green Party of the United States to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala have given us. They put themselves on the line. They went to jail for justice. They braved the media. So can you.

I personally want to make sure that every one of us understands what we have achieved this year. Winning nearly half a million votes doesn't happen often for independent parties. We've done three times better than in the previous election cycle. We are moving in a good direction. I feel good, and hopeful, and I hope you do too.

You will hear directly from Jill and Cheri in the coming hours and days, and from the campaign and the national party in the coming weeks and months. If the election is still contested tomorrow, we will be in touch with you tomorrow as well.